Variations in the characteristics of acoustic gravity waves according to simulation data

Abstract

The characteristics of different-scale acoustic gravity waves (wavelengths of 100–1200 km, periods of 10–50 min) under different geophysical conditions have been studied using a numerical model for calculating the vertical structure of these waves in a nonisothermal atmosphere in the presence of an altitudedependent background wind and in a situation when molecular dissipation is taken into account. It has been established that all considered acoustic gravity waves (AGWs) effectively reach altitudes of the thermosphere. The character of the amplitude vertical profile depends on the AGW scales. The seasonal and latitudinal differences in the AGW vertical structure depend on the background wind and temperature. A strong thermospheric wind causes the rapid damping of medium-scale AGWs propagating along the wind. Waves with long periods to a lesser degree depend on dissipation in the thermosphere and can penetrate to high altitudes. A change in the geomagnetic activity level affects the background wind vertical distribution at high latitudes, as a result of which the AGW vertical structure varies.